She may be from Riga, Latvia, but after Wednesday night it’s clear that Laine Kurpniece has made a home for herself on the Events Center floor.
The Binghamton University women’s basketball team won its second consecutive game in convincing fashion, dominating La Salle 84-70. The Bearcats’ attack was led by the surprising play of sophomore center Kurpniece who registered a career-high 28 points and 14 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double.
“It feels great winning,” Kurpniece said grinning after the game. “I was working hard and I knew this would come out sometime.”
The teams played to a 53-53 tie with 10:58 remaining in the game, when Binghamton (2-2) rattled off an incredible 18-2 run to put the game away, with Kurpniece adding nine of those points.
“We couldn’t stop Laine or the rest of the team,” said La Salle head coach Tom Lochner. “She was outstanding especially given what she’s done in the past. She flat out dominated.”
The Explorers had no answer for BU during the run which lasted a little over four minutes and finally ended when La Salle (2-3) drained a three-pointer to briefly silence BU’s relentless offensive attack. Throughout the second half it was very clear that the Explorers had no answer for BU’s many offensive weapons.
The win, the Bearcats’ second of the year comes over a month earlier than their second win last year, and it speaks to the volumes this team has grown this season.
“I see contributions from a lot of different players,” said head coach Rich Conover. “If someone focuses on Rachel [Laws] or Jen Blues then Laine or Brianna can step up. It’s gonna take more than 2 players for us to win this year.”
Aside from the career day from Kurpniece, the Bearcats continued to get contributions from the entire team, as they delivered 20 assists. Senior Jen Haubrich added 15 points and seven rebounds, and senior Jen Blues delivered 14 points, going 4-for-5 from beyond the three-point arch. Senior Rachel Laws registered nine points and six assists, which is encouraging because she no longer has to shoulder the load for the entire team for them to win.
“Everyone’s stepping up this year, everyone’s on the same page,” Laws said. “Last year it took until conference play for us to get on the same page. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone. Everyone contributes something.”
After going 2-0 on this home stand, the Bearcats will look to extend their winning ways on the road as they head to West Virginia for a two-game trip against Marshall tonight, and Morehead State tomorrow. Binghamton won their first game of the season last year against Marshall scoring 85 points, and they are confident they can handle whatever these squads throw at them.
“It’s awesome how everyone is stepping up,” Haubrich said. “Just knowing that you can trust all your teammates is great. We just gotta keep it up and really focus in these away games.”